1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an index image control apparatus, and particularly to an index image control apparatus that can change a display region of an index image to be displayed on a screen of a monitor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, ultrasound diagnostic apparatuses are widely used in the medical and industrial fields. An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus repeatedly transmits ultrasound from an ultrasound transducer to a biological tissue, and receives an echo signal of ultrasound reflected from the biological tissue to display the information in a living body as a visible ultrasound tomographic image (hereafter, simply referred to as an ultrasound image).
In particular, an electronic scanning type ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, which electronically drives an ultrasound transducer to scan inside a body cavity, makes it possible to freely change the scanning method and to scan in various modes such as a flow mode including a color flow mode that can visualize the image of blood flow, besides a B-mode that displays a normal black-and-white image.
Moreover, an electronic scanning type ultrasound endoscope displays a blood flow image, which is calculated by Doppler processing, on a monitor upon execution of a color flow mode. In this case, a region of interest (hereafter, referred to as an ROI) in which the image of the Doppler processing is displayed is displayed on the display screen of the monitor. It is noted that in the ROI, a blood flow image is displayed in a preset display region as an index image.
Such an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes an operation portion for inputting various data and instruction signals. The operation portion is generally made up of a plurality of keys and switches, etc. provided on an operation panel of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, or a plurality of keys and switches, a trackball, and the like provided on a keyboard.
An example of conventional art for improving the operability of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication 2007-159922.
The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-159922 includes a touch panel that is substantially integrally disposed with a display surface of a display section (a monitor), in which an inspection-width setting function activation region is provided on the touch panel and thereby a display to show a function of changing the display width of image is performed so that changing operation of the display width is enabled.
In general, in the observation utilizing an ROI that is displayed during the execution of a color flow mode, the operator used to move the ROI to a desired position by operating a switch such as a trackball etc. provided in an operation portion of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, or to change the size of the ROI by operating a plurality of keys, thereby changing the display region of the ROI.